Frequently Asked Questions
Question: How many children in the United States need help learning how to read?
Answer: Most of them! Here are some independent statistics which demonstrate the continuing need:
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“Reading skills serve as the major foundational skill for all school-based learning, which underlies school and occupational success.” (Dr. G. Reid Lyon’s report to the Committee on Labor and Human Resources, 4/28/98)
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“Only about 5% of children in the U. S. learn to read with no apparent effort before school.”
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“20-30% learn to read when exposed to formal instruction. (It appears to make no difference what instructional emphasis is used.)”
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“For about 60% it is extremely difficult, and for 20-30% of these children, it is one of the most difficult tasks they will be expected to master in school.”
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The National Assessment of Educational Progress reported for 2006-2007:
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68% of all 4th graders were not proficient in reading
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58% of White 4th graders were not proficient in reading
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86% of African-American 4th graders were not proficient in reading
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83% of Hispanic 4th graders were not proficient in reading
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83% of Low Income 4th graders were not proficient in reading
- Dr. Lyon reported, “As early as the middle of first grade, a child who is not experiencing success in reading loses his/her motivation to read.”
- A Carnegie study has shown that 30% of children entering kindergarten are not ready for kindergarten and 30% of children entering first grade are not ready for first grade. The determining factor in this study was basic reading ability.
- Students in kindergarten – 3rd grade are expected to learn to read, from 4th grade on they are expected to read to learn.
- The number one reason children are “held back” in kindergarten through 3rd grade is because of a lack of basic reading proficiency. When a child fails a grade in Pennsylvania (and in many other states) the district is required to provide an additional year of same-grade instruction. In PA, the average cost, per student per year, of school instruction is $10,000.
Question: Where is the illiteracy problem starting?
Answer:
Question: Does this program work?
Answer: YES! A ten-year study of the effectiveness of the ABC Look At Me Reading! materials, in which 200 at-risk students from kindergarten thru second grade were tested, revealed that 97.5% measurably improved their basic reading skills within 24 hours of instruction time! Many of the students moved beyond the contents of the ABC Look At Me Reading! Learning Packet and into higher level materials. The remaining 2.5% showed improvements in areas not covered by the standardized testing used, including: directionality and the flow of the English language. This ten-year study included all socio-economic levels within Western Pennsylvania and was conducted in a two-week, summer, small classroom (4 students per class) instructional setting.
Question: How can I be involved?
Answer: Two ways:
1 - Become a caring community sponsor. A donation of $100 can provide a child with life-changing basic reading materials, training for the child advocate, and on-going literacy support. Whatever amount you are able to donate would be greatly appreciated, and would aid us in reaching our goal of helping 10,000 children in the communities of Western PA.
2 - Become a volunteer tutor. There is always a need to have tutors available to tutor children, whether you volunteer at an after-school program or in your own neighborhood. Once parents learns that their child needs basic reading help, they often want it right away and may not be able to tutor their own child. New available tutors are a blessing to these children. Besides, you might find someone in your own family could benefit from the ABC Look At Me Reading! Learning Packet too.